Golf’s French Open is an event on the European Tour that is played each year in May. Officially known as the Open de France, the tournament is the oldest national open in Europe outside of the UK’s British Open Championship, having been inaugurated in 1906.
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- Tournament Structure For Open de France
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- Similar Tournaments to Open de France
- Open de France Betting FAQs
- ThePuntersPage Final Say
Tournament Structure For Open de France
Although it wasn’t always the case, this tournament has taken place at Le Golf National near Paris since 1991, with the exception of two years. Now restored to its early May date, the French Open is an event on the European Tour and part of the Race To Dubai. This means that the winner will receive points towards the Race To Dubai leaderboard. At the end of the season, the top 60 players on the final leaderboard will take part in a tournament on the Jumeirah Golf Estate in Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship, which is not only the final event of the Tour, but also the richest. The players are also playing for a prize pool of around €1.6 million.
As is the norm for golf tournaments, the first day’s play will take place on a Thursday with a further round of 18 holes being played on each of the subsequent four days until a winner is found on the Sunday. Because this is a stroke play event, the winner will be the player who has accumulated the highest below par score in the field. If more than one player has a tied score, then play-offs are employed through which a winner should be determined. After two days of play, a cut is used to slice the field in half and determine which players will carry on competing over the weekend’s final two rounds of play.
History of Golf Open de France
The Open de France has been part of the European Tour since the tour was launched in 1972. It also is the oldest national golf open in Europe outside of the UK and was inaugurated in 1906. The Open Championship, one of modern golf’s four majors, is the oldest in Europe, having been founded in 1860.
Golf had already been popularised in France by the British who were living there from around halfway through the 19th century as evidenced by the founding of the le Pau Golf Club in 1856. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Golf de Paris directors, inspired by the Open Championship in the UK, decided to create a French equivalent. On the 30th of June and the 1st of July 1906, Pierre Deschamps, the Golf de Paris president, organised the Omnium Grand Championship on the grounds of La Boulie.
Today run by the Fédération Française de Golf (French Golf Federation), the Open de France is held at Le Golf National. Prior to 1991, the tournament had no fixed venue and had been hosted by the French cities of Le Touquet, Dieppe, Deauville, Biarritz, Lyon and Chantilly, among other venues. Since moving to Le Golf National, it has been held there every year except 1999 and 2001, when it was moved to Medoc and Lyon, respectively.
The Golf French Open is normally held in early May, but in 2019 was moved to an October date. Following its Covid cancellation in 2020, the tournament has reverted back to a springtime date in early May for the 2021 renewal. From 2004 onwards, qualification routes, similar to those employed by the Open Championship and the US Masters, were introduced. In 2021, the tournament will have its first ever host as Grégory Havret becomes the first one in the illustrious history of the France Open golf.
Year | Winning Player | Nationality |
---|---|---|
2020 | Cancelled | Cancelled |
2019 | Nicolas Colsaerts | Belgium |
2018 | Alex Norén | Sweden |
2017 | Tommy Fleetwood | England |
2016 | Thongchai Jaidee | Thailand |
2015 | Bernd Wiesberger | Austria |
2014 | Graeme McDowell | Northern Ireland |
2013 | Graeme McDowell | Northern Ireland |
2012 | Marcel Siem | Germany |
2011 | Thomas Levet | France |
Open de France Key Stats
- In 1971, the tournament’s record score was set when Lu Liang-Huan shot 262.
- In 2002, Marten Olander shot 8 birdies in a row, the most birdies in succession in a round.
- The most strokes ever played on one hole in this event was 20, hit by Philippe Porquier in 1978.
- In 2019, the prize money was €1.6 million.
Similar Tournaments to Open de France
- 20th – 23rd May, US PGA Championship: This event is on golf’s other tour, the predominantly North American-based PGA Tour, but is one of the deciding tournaments when it comes to the PGA’s FedEx Cup and takes place in Illinois in May each year.
- 15th – 18th July, The Open Championship: Europe’s biggest golf event and one of the four majors that are held annually. Held in the UK, this is the only major hosted outside of the US.
- 09th – 12th September, BMW PGA Championship: This European Tour event is where the Race To Dubai really begins to heat up and is held at Wentworth in Surrey, England each September.
Open de France Betting FAQs
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We are happy to say that the best bookies for Open de France betting are bet365, Paddy Power and William Hill.
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Sky Sport is the place for watching golf in the UK and that includes the French Open.
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The Open de France is held each year in May.
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The Open de France takes place at Le Golf National.
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The course par for this tourney is 72.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
One of the highlights of the European Tour, not to mention one of the oldest, the French Open golf tournament is held at Le Golf National each May and assembles the best golfers in Europe plus many more from the US, the Americas and Asia. It also distributes points towards the Race To Dubai where, at the end of the season, the highest ranked 110 players are rewarded for their performance over the season by qualifying for the following season.
Le Golf National always plays a crucial role in determining who these players will be. As such, and in its own right, few stops along the way are as prestigious as the Open de France though where the golf action is only ever fierce.